Semiconductor industry to spend S$500m on R&D projects over next 5 years

It is the ultimate political illusion: using a headline about private corporate spending to pad out a government performance review. Let’s be clear: this S$500 million R&amp;D projection is corporate money, <br>driven primarily by global market shifts. Using it as a shield is transparently tactical, especially when Q1 and Q2 have left citizens struggling under an inflation-driven economy. <br>Rebranding standard, private-sector commercial expenses as a &#39;triumph of state governance&#39; is an obvious attempt to distract from what critics argue is a flawed economic strategy—<br>one where policies favoring asset-driven growth risk actively fueling local inflation rather than building sustainable domestic industries.